Amtrak opens long-term parking area in St. Louis

As ridership continues to
increase at the Gateway Transportation Center, Amtrak passengers now have
another option for their personal vehicles- a long-term parking facility on
Amtrak-owned property at 421 South 16th Street, the corner of 16th and Poplar
Streets in Downtown St. Louis.

Officially opening Nov.
17, the secure 42-space parking area is paved, fenced, well-lit and monitored
by security cameras. It is fully automated, only accepts credit or debit cards
and offers the attractive rate is $6 for up to 24 hours and $6 for each
succeeding 24-hour period.

"Amtrak business is
booming in St. Louis, with the growing popularity of Lincoln Service trains to
Chicago and the improved reliability of Missouri River Runner trains to Kansas
City and Texas Eagle trains to and from the southwest," said John Bueschel, the
locally based Amtrak District Manager of Stations.

The new parking lot
continues to offer parking for downtown events through a separate entrance and
at a higher rate, and is operated for Amtrak by St. Louis Parking Co., a
family-owned local business. Amtrak also is making the long-term parking area
available to other users of the Gateway Station, including intercity bus and
Metro transit passengers.

Amtrak will add to the
current 42 spaces in the paved lot as demand warrants, which is likely
considering passenger ridership growth at the city-owned Gateway Station. For
the 12 months ending September 30, 2009, Amtrak St. Louis ridership reached
278,778, an increase of nearly 2.5 percent (6,781 passengers) from the previous
year.

At St. Louis, Amtrak
offers four daily Lincoln Service round-trips to and from Chicago via
Springfield and Bloomington-Normal, two daily Missouri River Runner round-trips
to and from Kansas City via Jefferson City, and one daily Texas Eagle round-trip
to and from Chicago or Arkansas and Texas, via Little Rock, Dallas-Fort Worth
and San Antonio. Amtrak passengers also have access to a daily Amtrak Thruway
shuttle connecting St. Louis with Carbondale, Illinois, and the daily Amtrak City
of New Orleans train to and from New Orleans, via Memphis.